Context & Motivation
Currently working as a secondary school design teacher at AICS (Amsterdam International Community School); I am working on a campus with 700 students from ages 4 - 17.
This project, conducted during an AllWomen UX/UI Bootcamp, focuses on group 7 students (the last year of primary school) and MYP1 (the first year of the middle years program or secondary school).
Why did I want to work on this project?
* Every year I see high levels of emotional uncertainty
* Avoidable difficulties occur
* Students have common needs and challenges
* More effective support and guidance through the transition from primary to secondary could aid the process.
Initial Problem
The main issue that I saw students facing was how they were struggling to find their way around the school building. Suddenly, moving from having one classroom to 13 different subjects and often no longer in the same class as their friends, students were experiencing unnecessary levels of stress and worry. This on top of becoming an independent learner left room for a solution to tackle these issues.
Initial Hypothesis
“I believe that creating a way-finding tool for students transitioning from primary to secondary school at AICS will facilitate a smoother transition for the student experience.”
Desk Research
To develop a further understanding of existing solutions and problems students face, I found examples of both physical and digital way-finding solutions and apps.
Whilst these examples were a helpful visual reference, when digging down using the five whys method, I discovered that the emotional transition that students experience has a far greater impact on those first few weeks of secondary school. This is mainly due to:
* New Environment - students are in a new area of the building and need to navigate on their own.
* New Teachers - most primary students only know the primary teachers, so they have a lot of new faces to learn.
* Increased Independence - managing time efficiently, remembering the correct equipment and books, and following a timetable are just some of the many new tasks students face.
* Social Dynamics - brand new classmates, only seeing old friends during break time and developing new friendships.
* Increased workload - studying for tests, homework is a new concept and they now need to catch up with work they have missed.
Methodology
After initial background research I conducted surveys with 19 primary students, 5 secondary students and 3 teaching staff to obtain mostly quantitative data and followed with interviews with 4 primary students, 1 secondary student and 2 teachers to obtain qualitative data.
I gathered that data into an affinity map, which initially proved difficult to cluster, but came down to eight key areas, of which the most important three I found some insights.
User Archetypes
From the affinity mapping and 'how might we' questions, I came up with a primary a secondary archetype student.
Goals
Following on from my primary and secondary research, I decided upon these three main goals to focus on for my solution:
* Empower students
* Create connections
* Facilitate independence to problem solve
Updated Hypothesis
“ I believe that creating a digital solution for students, to address the emotional and practical aspects of transition between primary and secondary school at AICS, will significantly improve the student experience.”
Ideation and User Flows
Wire-framing
Moving the ideation forward to prototype stage I initially began by ideating for an app, when the Dutch government released a statement that they were wanting mobile phones to be banned at school. Wanting to keep my solution an MVP to pitch to my school, I instead shifted to creating a website.
Design System
Next, I moved on to creating a high-fidelity version of my MVP, focusing on my main user flow where a student is trying to find a buddy in school. I created a design system and my own icons for the main profile page using Adobe Illustrator.
High-Fidelity Prototype
Here is my high-fidelity MVP. The main user flow takes students in through their usual Google login onto an initial splash page to explain the new profile and from there the two options. The main profile page is where they can access all necessary links to regularly accessed school programs, their timetable, and assessment schedule, and the main focus for this case study - Find a Buddy - allows them to match with a student and chat.
Usability Testing
I went back to those students and teachers who I initially conducted the interviews with to complete usability testing and all testers viewed the dashboard as a positive tool. There were some suggestions of how to expand the product beyond a working prototype:
* Students requested a place to review past grades
* Students suggested to integrate AI to help connect students with like minded students
* Customisable profiles (to make it functional)
* Expandable information on the calendar
* Refine reasons for connecting to a buddy
Reflections
* Write clear and concise questions for the interviews - especially for younger students
* Clearer instructions to interviewees - to facilitate more impactful interviews, keeping them on topic
* Reflect early on - keep going back to the research, and keep checking in with users for feedback
Next steps
* Further user testing to refine the features based on feedback
* Populate more content on the dashboard page
* Film videos to include for student FAQs
* Continue to refine the aesthetics to align with school branding
* Pitch the product to the transition team at AICS. Particularly the UX research as this can have a direct impact on next academic year.
